The Everything Beans e-Book (recipe: Black Bean Burgers)
Beans are a staple in our home and I’m fortunate that both Danny and the boys enjoy them any way I serve them. While they insist they don’t get tired of bean & cheese burritos or Frijoles rancheros, I sometimes feel like I want to mix things up in the bean department.
Enter a new e-book from Katie Kimball, The Everything Beans Book: 30 Frugal, Nutrient-Packed Recipes for Every Eater.
Perfect! Back in January, Katie of Kitchen Stewardship and I shared a drink at Blissdom where she told me about the exciting new project she was working on. If I wasn’t already convinced that a bean cookbook sounded right up my alley, a sample of Katie’s Black Bean Brownies was the clincher. They were moist, rich, and totally credible, – and yes, the recipe is in the book (as Grain-Free Fudgy Brownies).
The Everything Beans Book
Since my time with Katie, all the recipes have been tested, the writing completed, and The Everything Beans Book is now available. I have to tell you, I’m eating up my copy.
Hit the jump to read more about the bean cookbook, get a recipe for a healthy burger, and enter to win your very own copy of Katie’s e-book. (Sorry! this giveaway has ended)
In-depth Introduction
A comprehensive twenty-four page introduction details everything one needs to know about cooking with beans including:
- Nutritional benefits of beans.
- How to prepare beans, both canned and dried.
- How to store beans.
- How (and why) to sprout beans.
- Menu planning featuring beans.
- Why you should incorporate beans into your diet.
- Special diet tips, Gluten-Free, kosher, etc.
Recipes that Rock!
The Everything Beans Book contains thirty well-written and thoroughly researched recipes featuring lentils, chickpeas, and of course, many varieties of beans.
The recipes are family friendly, hunger-inducing, and will leave you wanting to cook the book from cover to cover. And I intend to.
Click here to view more details and to scroll through the recipe titles in the Table of Contents.
Recipe: Mexican Black Bean Burgers
One of our favorite recipes from the cookbook were these hearty bean burgers. What a fantastic way to make beans the star of the meal!
I’ve adapted the recipe to suit our family. The legumes are canned (that’s all I had around), and the vegetables are sautéed, as the kids and Danny don’t love raw onion/garlic. I also grilled them on our Breville Smart Grill
, which we use for winter grilling, but a cast iron pan works just fine, too.
Guess what? My boys (3 & 5, remember?) ate these faster than they do a regular hamburger. Yay! Another meatless meal to add to the menu plan.
Black Bean Burgers
Ingredients
- 1 small onion chopped
- 1/2 red pepper chopped
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
- 2 jalapenos optional, seeded
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 can black beans drained and rinsed
- 1 1/2 cup cooked green lentils I used canned
- 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1/2 teaspoon pepper
- 2 eggs
- 1 cup bread crumbs
Instructions
- Open cans of black beans and brown or green lentils, rinse them well with cold water, and drain them in a small sieve.
- Heat olive oil in a small sauté pan. Roughly chop onion and red pepper; peel garlic. Sauté vegetables in the oil until they have softened, about five minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool.
- Pulse the sautéed onion, pepper, garlic in a food processor, along with the fresh cilantro and optional jalepeno, until finely chopped. Add the beans and lentils and process until pasty. If your food processor is a bit weak, you may want to tackle this in two batches. (I only have a mini food processor, but I did it in three batches and was fine.)
- When mostly smooth, add salt, pepper, and the eggs. Process until combined and then add 3/4 of cup of bread crumbs and process briefly until incorporated. Give a little stir around the very center for anything your blade may have missed. If your food processor is on the small side, you may wish to remove the legume/vegetable mixture to a bowl and simply stir in the rest of the ingredients. (this is what I did!)
- Add more bread crumbs bit by bit until the mixture starts sticking together. It is now ready to form patties.
- Put some flour in a salad bowl to use in flouring your hands and the outside of the patties. Form 1/2- to 3/4-inch thick patties. The patties might seem a little fragile, but you don't want them too stiff or they might dry out and get crumbly once cooked.
- Cook in a well-greased skillet over medium to medium-high heat, or an indoor grill, for about 5-8 minutes on each side, turning at least once for even doneness. You can add oil in between sides, especially if you want a nice even browning look, or if you're using a cast iron skillet.
- Serve between two buns with an assortment of condiments and favourite toppings. Keep with the Mexican theme and offer fresh peppers, pickled jalapenos, avocado slices and salsa.
Notes
Nutrition
Giveaway
**This giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to the winners, Gwen, Amy A, and Coutney!**
Katie has kindly offered three copies of The Everything Beans Book to giveaway to Simple Bites readers!
To enter the giveaway, simply leave a comment below and tell me something YOU like to make with beans or other legumes. Falafel? Chili? Quesedillas? I’d love to hear how you serve them.
Good luck to all!
Comments close at 11:46 EST on Saturday, March 19. Winners will be notified via email and announced Sunday in the link love (and look for a coupon code, too!).
This is my favourite bean recipe:
http://www.quenteebom.com/gamas/pastelaria/pastelaria-miniatura/produto/pastel-de-feijao-mini_165.aspx
They’re traditional portuguese tartlets, and the filling is made with bean purée. Delicious on their own or with a cup of tea. Here’s a very good recipe from a lovely portuguese blog:
http://www.flagrantedelicia.com/en/pies-tarts-tartelettes/my-grandmothers-bean-tarts/
Thank you very much for the burger recipe!
Thanks for sharing!!
my pleasure! =)
I love the health benefits of beans and they taste great when made right. I would love to find ways to add beans to just about anything but especially eggs. I think beans with eggs and a little salsa would be good.
I have a serious problem with eating too much, so I have an eye on my calorie intake, but fell madly in love with azuki bean paste in China.
So I’ve followed this guide, to make it several times:
But the paste turned out kind of floury and dull because I didn’t add sugar, just a bit of sweetener.
But now I realised that I can get it nice and shiny by adding some sugar replacement for baked goods, which gives the same glossiness and texture as sugar. I used a danish brand called Isis Perfect Fit, mainly consisting of polydextrose. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polydextrose
So it becomes a gorgeous low cal dessert with good health effects, and perfect filling for buns, dumplings, and pancakes (which I flavor with pandan-extract, and coconut flour). So that’s my little asian treat now and then 😛
We love black beans here, alot. I think my favorite thing to do with them though is tossing them into soups. They really add a lot. We also make our own refried beans to go with our mexican feasts. Another personal favorite is to blend up some chick peas and make a big ol’ bowl of hummus. YUM!
These bean burgers look amazing! Being a vegetarian, I find that beans are pretty much my best friends, though I admit, I’ve been growing a little tired of them lately. This looks like the perfect recipe to spice things up!
As for what I love making with beans – minestrone soup! Yum yum! Or delicious vegetarian tacos. MMMMM!
Where do I begin on beans? Cowboy pie w/ kidney beans & a cornbread crust, “Easy Supper” with macaroni & chili beans (those are the main ingredients for these 2 meals), bean burritos, bean dip, chili, bean soup, hummus, I could go on & on. My absolute favorite though, is homemade baked beans. I will eat a bowl of them with nothing else! In fact, I did this many times back in my college days!
These burgers look delicious, and I would definitely make black bean quesadillas! And some yummy dips for veggies. 🙂
I like adding lentils to salads with cooked beets, avocados, green onions, cucumbers and tomatoes!
Being vegetarian I definitely love eating beans, in tacos or a vegetarian chili – mixing a variety of beans..
Black bean and rice enchiladas is the favorite bean dish around here. We also enjoy white bean soup with bacon and onions. I am totally intrigued by the idea of grain free black bean brownies!
I’ve been eating dal (Indian lentils) and rice all week, as our budget is very limited. Dal is seasoned with curry, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, cloves, cardamon, garam masala, and red pepper and I cook the lentils in broth. When it gets repetitive I add a little chutney and rooster sauce. It’s one of my favorites and it’s a staple in India. I would love to have more bean recipes!
Good old beans and rice is one of my favorite meals. Black beans with some bell peppers, jalapenos, onions, and garlic. Serve with a little hot sauce and sour cream. Yum!
Beans, Beans truly are a magical fruit! We add them to so many things…beans and rice, minestrone soup, even delicious “brownies”! Can’t live without ’em!
My goal this month was to fine tune a fool-proof “pot of beans” recipe. (I think I’ve done it!) I would love to have several more go-to bean recipes though 🙂
Delish!! Thanks for sharing!
Yum, I’m going to have to try and make these.
I often use beans in Indian curries that I make. I also love to make veggie chili with different kinds of beans.
Our family is trying to add at least 2 meatless meals a week to our family menu and are also eating gluten free due to a recent celiac disease diagnosis. we are in need of some bean recipies! I’m ready to try them all! thanks for the chance!
I just made vegetarian tacos for lunch today. I love beans in everything…hummus, chili, quesadillas. If only I could get my husband to feel the same way. Maybe this book would help!
I’m really trying to use beans more, looks like this could be just the thing! Currently a few of my favorites: Lentil Stew, refried beans, and black eyed peas with rice, kale, and a poached egg!
Can’t wait to try these burgers, I have a feeling they might get five stars from the hubby!
I’d love to win this book! I’m a fairly new vegetarian (15 months) and am still expanding my menu options.
I love to make vegetable chili with beans – at least 2 different kinds – and lots of chili powder. Got us through this past cold winter!
I lovvve lentils! Some of my favorite dishes to make with them are a simple lentil and vegetable soup and also curried lentils (dal). Delicious!
Thank you for the bbb (black bean burger) recipe. At hour house, we love our black beans, simply cooked over some brown rice. Spouse eats mostly vegetarian, so I love learning new ways to get more beans in our meals. THANK YOU.
I love to make homemade hummus.
I make a wonderful winter-into-spring transitional lentil soup. It has curry powder, lime juice, cilantro and it is sublime!!
I am phasing out meat and focusing on more vegetarian and raw; this book would be amazing to draw inspiration from =)
We are a bean-centered household: pasta e fagioli, lentil soups, black bean burgers, garbanzo casserole, stews. . .beans are such a healthy alternative to meats and beloved by both my husband and toddler. We’d love to have some new bean dishes in our repertoire!
My favorite is beans and rice, I know…done over and over, but it’s nice to make it warm, or cold (yummy salad), and seasoned a ton of ways (the more garlic the better! haha)… 🙂
dahl or rosemary roasted chickpeas with lemon, garlic and olive oil. Or another favorite is tomato soup with barley and white beans!!
I love a recipe I have which mixes white beans & tuna. It is super packed with protein. Also, this Warm Sweet Potato ‘n Black Bean Salad is also great.
http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/30/carrot-cake-smoothie-warm-sweet-potato-n-black-bean-salad/
Obama Chilli from Crockpot 365 is my families favourite way to have beans. The kids love it even the 10 month old.
I actually made Katie’s black bean burgers for the first time last week and my family loved them. We will definately have them again! I enjoy adding beans to my quesadillas and taco salads. Other readers have commented on making their own hummus which is something I have always wanted to try.
I eat beans and legumes every day and prepare them in more ways than I can count–but I am curious to see what Katie has come up with! My current favorite is a curried lentil soup with yams and a squeeze of lemon juice!
Ooh, these bean burgers look so yummy! Thanks for sharing the recipe. I am also fond of falafel and black bean soup, although they tend to have some (polite cough) negative effects afterwards.
I would LOVE to own a book that offers so much bean choice. My fave bean preparation is savoury moong bean lentils!
I’m new to vegetarian cooking so beans have definitely become a staple. One of my favorite things that I’ve made recently were white bean and spinach quesadillas that were incredibly simple and delicious. When I cook with black beans I usually stick with some variation of a Mexican dish or just plain seasoned black beans & rice. I’ve been trying to find a meatless burger alternative- I tried pre-packaged portabella burgers and the texture was way too soft. I can’t wait to give this recipe a try, the texture looks much more burger-like.
A bean brownie!? Okay I have to try that. M2 and I are bean fanatics so he would love to be able to say that he made some bean brownies. I can’t wait to get this book.
I like to add a scoopful of beans to my homemade smoothies. The kids don’t even notice they’re in there!
I’d love to win this e-book. I enjoy making black bean brownies as well as rice and beans.
i would love to know how to add more beans to my everyday meals. i like to make 15 bean soup, bean nachos or quesadillas for my kids for lunch and serve beans when we have something mexican as a main dish.
happy spring!!
We love beans, especially black beans. Our favorite thing to do with them is black bean soup. Other favorites are white bean dip, hummus, bean burritos, chilies. The possibilities are unless!
I’m a big fan of beans, especially in Mexican-style lasagna or pizza!
I was just thinking about bean burgers the other day as I have a plethora of beans to use up. These look fabulous!
I am trying to cook healthier so have stocked up on canned beans and even have a can of lentils in the cupboard – even if I do not win this ebook I do believe I will purchase it. Love the recipes and tips you offer – great great blog.
Mmm! I love beans! I’m on the hunt for a Chili recipe … you can never have enough chili in my eyes.
I love making chili… it’s my favorite way to eat beans!
My husband LOVES chili, so that’s what I like to make with beans. 🙂
How do I NOT cook beans? And in what form do I NOT enjoy them?? Beans are a cheap, easy & tasty staple of my diet. But I’m always looking for new ideas and recipes to try!
Lately I’ve been on a bean dip/sauce tear – everything from edamame hummus to carmelized onion black bean dip to white bean and cashew ‘cream’ sauce.
over in LA black and pinto beans are frequent visitors in our meals- in salads, with rice and avocado, quesedillas, nachos, and chili.
I have a delicious black bean salad w avocado and onions and tomatoes…its sooo good for a summer meal.
I use black beans the most, trying to add them to dishes I have already been making. I just have to be careful to not add too many and change the taste too much.
With three young children, I am always looking for new recipes that they will love. Beans are so healthy and a great way to get them their nutrients. Falafel sounds wonderful right now. I can see my 1 yr old eating it by itself! I love to make Texas caviar with black beans, corn, tomatoes, cilantro and red wine vinaigrette!